Impending Doom...

“…alone I sit back in my chair and feel my mind dissolve…”

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. That’s my cute way of saying Sadistic Intent have a bunch of singles and eps taking up record collection space, but are fresh out of full-lengthers. For many - much like love, marriage, family, house, opening a business, kicking drug dependency, that planned skydive, careers as pro ball players or astronauts, and ultimate haymaker to the boss’ temple - it never happens, but from rolling around the underground for the last twenty five or so years they’ve built a mildly recognizable name and gathered somewhat Nunslaughter-caliber cult status. It’s really only peripheral fame, but that for some is reward enough.

The CA four-piece began when thrash and death metal had little choice but intersect and knot up together like two Japanese fishing nets; no more or less was this a common event, and it wasn’t ‘til the spring break of the ‘90s that death metal started seceding from its older siblings’ dominance to find its own mystic powers of extreme metal persuasion.

Impending Doom…, the sadistic ones’ ’90 four-song debut ep, shows us the thrash/death riddle they’ve personally unraveled using down-tuned rhythmic bludgeoning caked with some extra production mud and Enrique Chavez’s deathrasp which closely borders Altars of Madness-era David Vincent. In the two demo throwbacks “Existence” and “Morbid Faith”, plus newly-forged “Lurking Terror” and the title track, this stuff is present in grand demand. However, unaffected by these larger dynamics is the more essential value of songwriting, which is limited to ordinary tempo/speed changes bordering on obligatory and hardly any uniqueness of character beyond basic death metal that even this early release date would have a rough time defending.

Blessed with decades-long perseverance led by the Cortez brothers, Rick and Bay, Sadistic Intent hasn’t disappeared from aural sight, and in that time I can only assume they’ve improved the two fundamentals holding them back.

Sadistic Intent is a band whose name has been around the underground scene for several years, perhaps due their releases that have been circulating more than ten years ago.

‘Impending Doom…’, a demo released in 1990, is one of their oldest releases which serves to show a picture of unbridled brutality heard in the sadistic sound. Resting somewhere between death metal and black metal, Sadistic Intent play ruthless material that stomps along while vocalist Enrique Chavez‘s shrill rasp pierces through the speakers. ‘Lurking Terror’, the opening discharge, is filled with crawling guitar sounds and hit-and-run drumming. The song could be anyone’s choice as the most crushing because of its intensity and heaviness. ‘Existence’ and ‘Impending Doom…’ are brutal cuts because of the incorporation of blasting drumming that lends the band a heavier element, but no serious damage is done here. ‘Morbid Faith’ steps up and fires off the most deadly riffing and vocal delivery heard on the ‘Impending Doom…’ demo. In fact, no melody was allowed here, just brutality drove the band’s sound to attain extreme anti-Christian attitudes.

The demo itself is solid, but it could have been more deadly with a suitable production. Conversely, in spite of being a demo, ‘Impending Doom…’ holds an evil power sure to make it a MUST for any fan of smells-like-sulfur metal.